Chapter 117: Chapter 117
The Sword King burst into laughter, the Alliance Leader struggled to hold it in out of concern for his dignity, someone else let out a hollow laugh, and yet another, especially Daoist Master Cheong-hyeon of the Qingcheng Sect, trembled his beard in rage.
Yet Cheon Woo-jin indifferently swept his eyes across the room with a face wondering why everyone was acting like that, and since no answer had returned from the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist, he soon spoke again.
“Then am I the Hidden Dragon Squad Leader starting now?”
“…”
Silence flowed through the room.
Although their feelings toward Cheon Woo-jin differed, everyone had similar thoughts while looking at his indifferent expression.
‘In any case, he is certainly no ordinary fellow.’
Indeed, how could the disciple of the White Flower Sword Immortal be an ordinary man?
Unaware or unconcerned about such thoughts, Cheon Woo-jin turned to leave as though he had said all he needed to say.
The reason he had decided to take the position of Hidden Dragon Squad Leader was simple. It was because he had learned through Man Gi-ja’s letter. That the Martial Alliance his masters had desired was not in a state like this.
“Who do you think you are to decide that as you please!”
At the voice coming from behind, Cheon Woo-jin’s steps halted. Turning around, he saw a Daoist dressed in blue Daoist robes pointing a finger with an extremely furious face.
At that sight, Cheon Woo-jin merely tilted his head. He could not understand why that man was so angry.
Cheon Woo-jin’s calm eyes contrasted sharply with Cheong-hyeon’s.
Because of that, Cheong-hyeon was placed in an awkward position for no good reason.
Furthermore, that gaze.
‘Is that bastard truly the disciple of the White Flower Sword Immortal?’
Seeing the White Flower Sword Immortal a couple of times from a distance was all he had ever done.
Yet even though he had only seen him briefly, the serene and profound eyes of the White Flower Sword Immortal remained unforgotten even after several decades.
Of course, there was no rule stating a disciple had to possess the same eyes as the master, but it was astonishing that they could be so starkly different.
Gazing steadily at Cheong-hyeon, Cheon Woo-jin asked in a truly nonchalant tone.
“The Hidden Dragon Squad Leader, may I not do it?”
“…”
It was not a provocation.
Cheon Woo-jin had asked because he was truly curious.
Why this man hated and guarded against him so intensely, despite them having never met before.
At least, the righteous martial artists spoken of by his master, White Elder, were not like this.
However, this was merely Cheon Woo-jin’s thought.
To others, it appeared as an outright provocation.
Some observed the situation with wary expressions, while others watched with amused faces.
The Cheong-hyeon they knew was by no means of a temperament to endure being insulted to his face.
“Why can’t I? Tell me the reason, and if it is justifiable, I will not do it.”
Cheon Woo-jin genuinely thought so.
Yet no answer returned from Cheong-hyeon.
For some reason, he merely twitched his lips a few times without uttering a single word. To be precise, he was unable to.
Although he was someone who could hardly control his emotions for a Daoist, he was still an elder of the Martial Alliance and the Qingcheng Sect.
His instincts as a martial artist were constantly warning him.
Never confront the young martial artist before his eyes.
Around the time when Cheong-hyeon was neither able to step back nor step forward, engaging in a staring contest with Cheon Woo-jin.
The sound of hurried footsteps was heard.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned toward the door.
No one had ever dared disturb the Grand Council of the Martial Alliance, yet there were many visitors today of all days.
The man who soon appeared was the Courier Hall Master.
At the appearance of the Courier Hall Master, who managed all information entering and leaving the Martial Alliance, everyone wore tense expressions.
Coming despite knowing that the Grand Council was taking place meant that it was urgent information where every second counted.
“Alliance Leader, it is a letter from Shaolin.”
The Courier Hall Master handed a letter held in his hand to the Alliance Leader.
Glancing once at the Chief Strategist and the Courier Hall Master, Bukli Cheon began reading down the letter.
Everyone could see clearly.
Though he struggled to control his expression, the corners of his mouth curved upward very faintly for a fleeting moment.
“Heoh, to think what caused Master Beop-jin to send a letter…”
Bukli Cheon deliberately trailed off.
Exclamations burst out from all around. Master Beop-jin of Shaolin possessed the highest generational seniority in the contemporary Righteous Path, a man whom even the White Flower Sword Immortal addressed as senior.
The one who could truly be called the living embodiment of the Righteous Path itself had sent a letter directly to the Martial Alliance.
Everyone could not help but be curious about its contents.
Bukli Cheon intentionally spoke of the letter’s contents when the people’s anticipation reached its peak.
Excluding greetings and flowery rhetoric, the core content was as follows.
‘To think you have recommended the White Flower Sword Immortal’s disciple as a squad leader. The opposition must be severe and your headache great, yet it is truly a splendid decision nonetheless.’
Master Beop-jin praised the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist for this matter.
He was also the only person in the world who could praise the two men as if treating children.
As the contents of the letter were mentioned, Cheong-hyeon glared at the Chief Strategist with a stiff face.
That Venerable Master Beop-jin’s letter arrived at this exact timing?
There was no way it was a coincidence. In the first place, there was not even enough time for this matter to reach Shaolin.
Sima Hwi had definitely arranged it in advance.
How could anyone dare oppose a matter praised by Master Beop-jin?
Even so, the reason they did not mention that fact from the beginning was to see who guarded against and envied Cheon Woo-jin.
Snapping his folding fan open to conceal his mouth, Sima Hwi let slip a narrow smile in his eyes.
‘In the eyes of those who tried to establish the Righteous Heavenly Alliance together with the Tang Clan, Cheon Woo-jin cannot help but be detestable.’
At that sight, Cheong-hyeon wore an indignant expression, but there was nothing he could do now.
‘This cunning viper of a bastard…’
Cheong-hyeon sat down testily in his seat.
Naturally, no faction cast a dissenting vote at this point.
In that manner, all agenda items of the Grand Council were neatly settled according to the intentions of the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist.
* * *
As rumors spread, the Martial Alliance became abuzz with excitement.
Zhuge Rin, who had virtually been stripped of power within the clan and driven out to the Martial Alliance, became the Black Tortoise Squad Leader.
Since the death of Zhuge Seong, her standing had grown firmer with each passing day.
Furthermore, Cheol Ji-ak, who had constantly been mocked as the perpetual squad leader, became the hall master of the organization called the Inspection Hall.
Not a division head, but a hall master. In essence, he stood on equal footing with key posts of the Martial Alliance, such as the Disciplinary Hall Master and the Courier Hall Master.
Although there was considerable controversy, led by those who had observed Cheol Ji-ak closely for a long time, public opinion formed that ‘the Alliance Leader gave him the position that suits him best.’
The preceding two events were also heated, but by far the greatest attention was drawn by the establishment of the Hidden Dragon Squad.
Ever since the founding of the Martial Alliance, it was the first time that a newly joined rookie skipped vice squad leader and was promoted straight to squad leader.
Contrary to the concerns of the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist, the backlash was minimal. He had the background of being the White Flower Sword Immortal’s disciple, and the actions and martial prowess he had displayed thus far were excessively formidable.
Most alliance members already assessed Cheon Woo-jin as a man fundamentally different from themselves from the very beginning.
Rather, the members of the Martial Alliance paid great attention to whom Cheon Woo-jin would select as his squad members. Those with meager backgrounds even considered it an opportunity.
Thus, many young martial artists gathered before the manor of the Hidden Dragon Squad. However, because of the firmly locked gate, no one could enter inside.
Having locked the gate, Cheon Woo-jin surveyed the interior of the manor.
There was a martial arts training ground and courtyard capable of accommodating about thirty people, along with a fairly large three-story pavilion.
However, as if it had not been used for a long time, cobwebs and dust were piled everywhere. Soon the alliance would send people to refurbish it, but unable to wait, Cheon Woo-jin picked up a broom.
He truly liked this place. It was because of the explanation Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon had added while handing over the key to the manor.
– This is the manor that Senior White Flower Sword Immortal used during his days as a squad leader. He only used it for a very short time because he became a division head three months after becoming a squad leader. Still, it will hold significant meaning for you.
Befitting a manor used by martial artists, all sorts of sword marks remained throughout the grounds.
Even amidst the wounds tangled like a skein of thread, Cheon Woo-jin instantly discovered familiar traces.
Long, vivid marks left by the gale of the Crane Feather Fan.
They were not the sharp and concise traces Cheon Woo-jin knew, but rather crude and unpolished marks.
That was why he liked it even more. Because it felt as though he was tracing the footsteps of his master White Elder in his youth.
A very faint smile crossed the corners of Cheon Woo-jin’s mouth.
It was then.
“Squad Leader. Well, should we youngest ones handle the cleaning among ourselves?”
Cheon Woo-jin snapped out of his reverie.
Holding a broom and a rag respectively, Song Yi-yeon and Jin Un, in rather grimy states, were looking at him with arms placed on their waists.
“Ah, right.”
Cheon Woo-jin pretended he had forgotten.
At that, the eyes of the two narrowed, but Cheon Woo-jin deliberately looked away and retrieved the Crane Feather Fan from his robes.
Song Yi-yeon was frightened and backed away.
“Young Hero Cheon! No, Squad Leader! Regardless, considering the time we spent as close friends, taking out that terrifying thing just because I said one word is a bit…”
While Song Yi-yeon’s mouth moved busily, Jin Un was already wiping a pillar with his rag.
Cheon Woo-jin wore a dumbfounded expression.
“Do you honestly think I would attack you young heroes?”
Even while speaking so, the Crane Feather Fan swung.
Startled, Song Yi-yeon fell backward.
Over him swept a streak of gentle wind. The wind expanded its size in an instant, suddenly scouring here and there throughout the manor.
Though vast in size, it was a gentle wind incapable of killing even a single insect.
The wind was blowing away the dust and cobwebs accumulated in the manor in a flash.
Aside from the spiders robbed of their homes in a single instant, everyone watched the spectacle with faces full of awe. Not only Song Yi-yeon and Jin Un, but also the young martial artists gathered outside the manor.
“Uh!”
In that instant, the hero headband on Jin Un’s forehead was blown away by the wind. Because of that, a scene unfolded as if a plum blossom were scattering this way and that in the wind.
Soon, around the time the wind within the grounds subsided and the hero headband was also fluttering gently down.
Thwack.
There was a man who caught it before the newly opened gate.
Receiving the hero headband back from his hand, Jin Un asked.
“What brings Young Hero Namgung here?”
It was none other than the Young Sword Dragon, Namgung Jin.
He was staring at Cheon Woo-jin without a word.
Cheon Woo-jin was also such a taciturn man that he did not initiate conversation.
As the two remained silent and locked eyes, right around the time when only the surrounding people grew somehow uncomfortable.
Unable to endure the silence as always, Song Yi-yeon spoke up.
“Could it be that you came asking to be let into the Hidden Dragon Squad?”
Namgung Jin still had no words. However, his face had turned slightly red. Seeing this, Song Yi-yeon stifled a laugh, and Jin Un beside him chimed in unnecessarily.
“Then wouldn’t that make him our junior? Isn’t that right, Senior Song?”
The very first person Cheon Woo-jin brought over after becoming the Hidden Dragon Squad Leader was Song Yi-yeon, followed next by Jin Un.
Jin Un intentionally addressed Song Yi-yeon as senior in order to tease Namgung Jin.
Thanks to that, Namgung Jin’s face flushed even redder.
Namgung Jin himself did not really know why he had come here either. Although his father, the Sword King, had ordered him to cling to Alliance Member Cheon’s trouser hem if necessary and enter the Hidden Dragon Squad by all means, it was not merely for that reason.
He had simply walked aimlessly while lost in thought to soothe his troubled mind, and upon arriving, he found himself here.
Seeing Namgung Jin’s expression become truly complicated, Song Yi-yeon spoke hurriedly.
“Ahem, honestly, it was a joke. What junior or senior among peers of the same class? But didn’t Young Hero Namgung become the president of the Dragon and Phoenix Society this time? Is it fine for you to enter the Hidden Dragon Squad?”
With Tang Bi-cheon having met such an end, the position of president of the Dragon and Phoenix Society naturally passed to the eldest son of the Namgung Clan. Far from facing opposition from the members, he received a warm welcome.
No matter how much the Tang Clan had coveted the Namgung Clan’s position during the Poison King’s era, the foremost seat among the Five Great Clans still belonged to the Namgung Clan.
At Song Yi-yeon’s words, Cheon Woo-jin also looked with a curious face. Given Namgung Jin’s personality, rather than serving under someone else, he would likely insist on keeping the seat of president of the Dragon and Phoenix Society.
Yet words that even Cheon Woo-jin had not anticipated flowed from Namgung Jin’s mouth. Moreover, in a very calm tone.
“The Dragon and Phoenix Society was disbanded just a moment ago.”
“H-Huh?”
The most astonished was Jin Un.
Having been a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect and someone who once had a foot in the Dragon and Phoenix Society, he knew well how formidable their solidarity and power were.
* * *
Just before Namgung Jin headed toward the Hidden Dragon Squad.
The Dragon and Phoenix Society was brimming with anticipation as they welcomed Namgung Jin as president.
Even if somewhat overshadowed due to the monster named Cheon Woo-jin, Namgung Jin, as the son of the Sword King and known as the Young Sword Dragon, was also a man who would bear the future of the Martial Alliance.
Entering the meeting hall amid such applause, Namgung Jin felt quite troubled.
He fundamentally possessed a personality that viewed everyone as pathetic and loathsome, aside from a few martial artists he personally acknowledged.
In the eyes of such a Namgung Jin, the meeting hall of this Dragon and Phoenix Society was no different from a cave infested with vermin.
Even the air of this place entering and leaving his body was unbearably revolting.
Therefore, Namgung Jin struggled to hold back his nausea as he spoke.
“By the authority of the president, the Dragon and Phoenix Society is disbanded. My apologies to the seniors, but that is my decision.”
Naturally, there was backlash.
And naturally, Namgung Jin ignored it and walked out of the meeting hall.
It was an attitude implying they could re-establish the Dragon and Phoenix Society among themselves, or come find him at the Namgung Clan if they truly could not bear it, doing whatever they pleased.
Naturally, there was no martial artist bold enough to seek him out at the Namgung Clan.
Having left the meeting hall like that, Namgung Jin had walked with a conflicted heart, and the place he arrived at was the manor of the Hidden Dragon Squad.
* * *
Having listened to Namgung Jin’s explanation, Song Yi-yeon raised a thumb.
“Kueh, I don’t particularly like Young Hero Namgung, but I somewhat envy that personality of yours. If it were me, considering the feelings of those remaining, I could never have turned it into such a mess before leaving. I truly envy that conviction.”
“…Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“An insult disguised as a compliment. You caught me.”
Song Yi-yeon grinned. Ever since the sparring tournament, he seemed much more comfortable interacting with Namgung Jin.
Shaking his head as if unwilling to converse further, Namgung Jin soon turned to look at Cheon Woo-jin.
The two exchanged a silent gaze.
Since it was quite a long time for men to hold eye contact, Jin Un and Song Yi-yeon watched with puzzled eyes.
‘Will you take me in?’
‘Do as you wish.’
After Namgung Jin and Cheon Woo-jin exchanged such a silent conversation, they nodded.
“…?”
Song Yi-yeon wore a baffled expression.
Of course, the same was true for Jin Un.
“What just passed between you two? Was I the only one who missed it?”
“I don’t know either. So how did it turn out?”
To the questions of the two, Cheon Woo-jin merely took the broom that was in Song Yi-yeon’s hand and handed it to Namgung Jin.